WJPA Sports

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Blake Lizotte is now part of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ long-term plan. The Penguins have signed the veteran forward to a three-year contract extension. The deal carries an average annual value of $2.25 million. The 28-year-old Lizotte has been a standout on one of the NHL’s most surprising teams, scoring five goals to go with five assists in 35 games this season. Pittsburgh began the year with modest expectations but is now in the playoff mix. The Penguins have thrived with Lizotte in the lineup, boasting a 20-9-6 record when he plays.

Most area high school basketball teams have one game remaining in the first half of their seasons with another complete trip through section ahead. Girls teams have a full schedule on Monday’s slate with Peters Township girls wrapping up Tuesday as part of their girls/boys doubleheader at Bethel Park.  Boys teams’ first trip through section games is slated to end tomorrow night. There’s no real break as teams return to section play on Thursday/Friday.

Wrestling squads are nearing the end of their dual meet campaigns, at least the matches that count toward WPIAL/PIAA Team Tournament qualifying. The top two teams in each section will qualify for the WPIAL Team Tournaments along with two wild cards in each classification. The WPIAL Team Tournament brackets will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 22, the day after the final matches.

Here’s a look at Monday’s girls action and what it means:
6A Section 2 Canon-McMillan shares the section lead with Norwin. The Big Macs visit last-place Connellsville.
5A Section 2 Trinity (3-2) and Peters Township (2-3) are one game apart in the standings. The Hillers visit Uniontown (1-3) tonight. The winner of the Peters/Bethel game tomorrow will take over 4th place.
4A Section 3 Ringgold (2-4) is in 5th place, the final qualifying position, and the Rams host 4th-place Mt. Pleasant (3-3) tonight.
3A Section 3 McGuffey (4-1) looks to claim a share of the section lead, visiting Seton-La Salle (5-0) tonight. Waynesburg (3-2) is home to Charleroi (1-4). Wash High (2-3) tries to pull even with 4th-place Keystone Oaks in the battle for the final qualifying spot.
2A Section 2 Fort Cherry (4-0) leads the way but visits South Side (3-1) tonight. Burgettstown (3-1), tied with South Side, hosts Carlynton (0-4).
2A Section 3 Chartiers-Houston (4-0)  is in 1st place, hosting Bentworth (2-2). Beth-Center hosts California, both teams tied for 2nd place at 3-1.  Carmichaels visits Jeff-Morgan, both teams looking for their first section win of the season.
1A Section 2 West Greene (5-2) and Avella (1-6) have both completed their first trips through the league. West Greene is solidly in third place, two games back fo the leaders (Geibel & Serra Catholic), two games ahead of a tie for fifth (Clairton & Monessen). Avella sits two games behind that 5th-place tie. Mapletown (0-6) is at home with Bishop Canevin (3-3).

Former Pirates pitcher Dave Giusti has died. According to reports, he died late Sunday night at the age of 86. He was a World Series champion and pitched for the Pirates from 1970-76 saving at least 20 games in four consecutive seasons from 1970-73. Giusti finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting in 1970, his first season pitching out of the bullpen. The right-hander made 66 appearances and had a 3.06 ERA in 103 innings, saving 26 games while walking 39 and striking out 85. Individually, his best season came in 1973, when he went 9-2 with a 2.37.

BOSTON (AP) — Joonas Korpisalo made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season and the eighth of his career, Viktor Arvidsson scored and the Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0 on Sunday. The Bruins won for the fifth time in six games despite going 0 for 6 on the power play a day after beating the Rangers 10-2. It was Boston’s first shutout this season. Coming off a loss at home against Calgary on Saturday that halted their season-high six game winning streak, the Penguins were shut out for the fourth time this season. Stuart Skinner stopped 17 shots.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Drake Maye threw a touchdown pass to Hunter Henry in the fourth quarter, and New England’s defense roughed up Justin Herbert as the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 in an AFC wild-card playoff game. Andy Borregales kicked three field goals for the Patriots, who won a playoff game for the first time since their Super Bowl victory to cap the 2018 season. They’ll host the winner of Monday night’s game between Pittsburgh and Houston in the divisional round. New England held the Chargers to 207 yards of offense and sacked Herbert six times.